Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times,
Communist China has a long-term plan to weaken the United States by fueling the fentanyl crisis, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Patel sat down for a wide-ranging interview with podcaster Joe Rogan on June 6, saying that President Donald Trump has done an “amazing job” at going after drug trafficking organizations and shoring up the southern border. However, the root of the U.S. fentanyl crisis lies with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he added, due to China’s exports of fentanyl precursors.
One thing is clear is that China is “not making a ton of money” with its precursor exports, Patel added.
“In my opinion, the CCP [has] used it as a directed approach because we are their adversary,” Patel said. “And their long-term game is, ‘how do I,’ in my opinion, ‘kneecap the United States of America, our largest adversary?’” Patel said.
Patel said that the long-term plan is to “take out generations of young men and women” who could have taken on jobs such as a police officer, a soldier, or a teacher.
“That’s what they [China] are doing, when you wipe out tens of thousands of Americans a year. It’s a long-term plan for them,” he said.
In 2024, there were an estimated 48,422 deaths involving synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to data from the CDC.
In March, Trump imposed an additional 20 percent on Chinese imports over China’s role in facilitating the production of fentanyl.
Patel said China has lied to the world about stopping fentanyl precursors.
“What they did was to trick the world. They came out and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna sell precursor X.’ They’re like, ‘So now we’re out of the fentanyl trade entirely,’” Patel said. “The problem is, there [are] 14 other precursors you can use to make fentanyl, and they’re still shipping all of those.”
Since assuming the post of FBI chief, Patel said his bureau started a “massive enterprise” to go after China-based companies making fentanyl precursors. Now, the Chinese firms are shipping precursors to India and Canada instead, he added.
“They’re taking the precursors up to Canada, manufacturing it up there, and doing their global distribution routes from up there, because we’ve been so effective down south,” Patel said.
Patel said he “just got off the phone with the Indian government.”
“So my FBI is over there working with the heads of their [Indian] government, law enforcement authorities to say, ‘We’re going to find these companies that buy it, and we’re going to shut them down. We’re going to sanction them. We’re going to arrest them where we can. We’re going to indict them in America if we can. We’re going to indict them in India,’” Patel said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued its latest annual threat assessment report in May, expressing concerns about sophisticated fentanyl “super laboratories” in Canada.
The report noted that while fentanyl originating from Canada remains small compared to the volume coming from Mexico, it still poses a concern. “These [Canadian] operations have the potential to expand and fill any supply void created by disruptions to Mexico-sourced fentanyl production and trafficking,” the report states.
In January, two pharmaceutical companies in India, Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals, were charged with criminal conspiracy to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere. Bhavesh Lathiya, a founder and senior executive of Raxuter Chemicals, was arrested in New York City and indicted on similar charges.
The companies used deceptive and fraudulent practices to avoid detection, including mislabeling packages, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings, according to prosecutors.
In May, federal authorities arrested 16 individuals and seized more than 400 kilograms of fentanyl across five states, in the largest fentanyl bust in DEA history, according to the Department of Justice.
Patel warned that drug traffickers are producing counterfeit drugs laced with fentanyl and using pill presses to shape them like candy or gummy bears, making them more appealing to young people.
Three Chinese nationals and a China-based company were charged in May for allegedly importing pill presses and other equipment for making “lethal fake pills” into the United States.
“I promised the president, the American people, we will not have kids dying of fentanyl overdoses in our streets. Just give me a little bit more time. We have a massive operation going on around the world on this,” Patel said.